How Should Christians Respond to Crisis?

At the time of writing this article, all anyone sees in the news is COVID-19. There is a lot of fear and confusion around the virus and it can become easy for Christians to get caught up in the chaos. We can under-react and pretend like this is going to be gone tomorrow. We can overreact, sell all our 401k stock, and buy a year’s supply of toilet paper. Neither of these options is helpful or really even Biblical.

I have seen many well-tempered and well-informed responses to this crisis from Christians. So many in fact, that I thought that perhaps my writing about this was redundant. But this is a series about engaging life with proper theology and so I decided to give my take on the issue. As always there will be a livestream to discuss. The livestream for this article will be Wednesday April 15th at 8pm EST.

Fear, Climate Change, and Greta Thunberg

Back in December, TIME magazine named Greta Thunberg as their person of the year. Whether or not you agree with Greta Thunberg, this seemed like a reasonable choice. Last year she quickly became a household name. This is in no small part because of her stance on climate change.

Often discussions of Greta involve some talk of her age and whether or not that makes her worth listening to on social and political issues. Though I think there is a discussion to be had around those issues, that is not the point of this article. What I came to realize quite quickly with Greta Thunberg, and what this article is about, is that the passion and urgency that she speaks with sounded very familiar. I began to realize that she sounded much like a fire and brimstone preacher.

Netflix and Jesus

No, our second installment of Everyday Theology is not some weird slang for bible dating. There has been a lot of news around these two topics recently. Though I plan to give a little background on two recent additions to Netflix’s lineup, the point is not to give a review in the typical sense. The point of this series is to apply the truth of the gospel to our everyday life. Since much of the media is not Christian, I think it is important for us to consider how our response to movies and television displays Christ.

One note before we get into the topic. By the time you read this I will have already had the first installment of Everyday Theology Q & A. Yet, at the time of writing this we are still a week out. That’s the time travel of print media. I say this because I want to remind you that we will be doing another Q & A livestream on February 20th at 8pm EST. If you want more information on how to get involved or you want to get questions in ahead of time you can visit the Facebook page for my blog. That page will always have the most up to date information.

The Gospel According to Kanye

I have a confession. Prior to the last week or so I hadn't really put much thought into Kanye. Sure there was his visit to the white house, his outburst at the 2009 VMAs, and his hit song Gold Digger. So I want to say upfront that I am not an expert on Kanye. I don't have 15 years of background to compare to. I am not a 'Ye fan. At least I wasn't two weeks ago.

The past week I have been listening to JESUS IS KING on repeat. I have seen his Airpool Karaoke video with James Corden. I have listened to Jesus Walks off his debut album. I have even watched his two hour interview with Zane Lowe in its entirety.

I've spent time thinking and praying. I've read article after article about the album. Yet there is one single fact I keep coming back to. What Kanye is now preaching IS the gospel. Everything on that album is the gospel -- from the emphasis on freedom for slaves to the counter-cultural statement that Jesus (and none other, not even an orange president) is king.

When Salvation Feels Like Condemnation

Last weekend I preached a hard sermon. It wasn't hard because I had to do in-depth research. It wasn't hard because the passage was particularly confusing. It was hard because it was truth that people don't like to think about let alone hear. It was hard because it called people to change.

I could spend this post writing about all the ways that the sermon was hard for me. I could talk about the consequences of hard conversations on the person who initiates that conversation. But the reality is that more often than not we are on the receiving end of hard conversations. This is not a post for those thinking about having hard conversations. This is a post for those who have heard a hard truth and don't know how to respond.

5 Things to Learn from Jules Woodson and #churchtoo

I am not a victim. I have never been abused. In fact, being a pastor, I have more in common with the abusers than with the victims. On behalf of the church I want to apologize. Apologize for the silence of the church. Apologize for generations of Pastors who thought more about their position than victims. Apologize for churches who cared more about reputations than displaying the nature of God. If you have been abused this is not for you. This is a blog for the church. The church that has been silent for too long.

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

I want to start this entry in the series with a question. What is your biggest temptation? It might be those cupcakes that coworker brought into work. It might be speeding. For some it will be a bottle of alcohol, for others heroin or meth. For over half of men the answer to that question would be porn. What I want you to see is that there are temptations all around us. Everyday. We cannot escape temptation. And yet for most this is a petition to God for escape from a life of temptation. But that is not really what Jesus is teaching us.

Our Father

Our Father. These are the first two words of the Lord's Prayer. At first glance they don't seem to mean much. They are just an address to God and yet this address brings with it some rich theology. In these two words we find hope, community, belonging, identity. In these two words is a deep understanding of who we are as a people of God and who God is for us. These first two words set the stage for understanding the rest of the Lord's Prayer.

People of Hope

The world is not over. The election has come and went and we are still standing. Some of you might say that this is only temporary; that we will see Armageddon soon. Some of you may be rejoicing that the right candidate won. There are probably many of you that are shaking your head and are in shock. You may not know how to move forward.

I never really started this blog just for Christians. Though it has a Christian focus I felt that this blog was for all who wished to read it. But today, this post, this is for my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This one is for you. Whatever your feelings on the results of last night there is only once course of action for the future. We need to be people of hope.

How Power Has Corrupted American Christianity

I want you to imagine something. I want you imagine an America where Christians are executed for preaching the gospel. Where religious leaders are imprisoned for what they preach. Where Christians are tortured, flogged, and forced to live as outcasts. This is the American we will have if Hillary is elected President. Or at least it is the America that some want you to think we will have. And if I'm honest, I don't think that is such a bad thing.

Today I Get Married . . . Again.

I thought of the title for this post back when I started this blog. I don't think that I really thought much about what would be in this post, simply that this would be a catchy title. There was a thought that I could talk about my journey from divorce to marriage. I figured I could talk about how things are different. I have come to realize that this is really about how what I see as a failure God has used for good. How my plan is never as good as God's plan for me.

Unforgiven

I'm sorry, this blog is not about Metallica or Clint Eastwood. If you came here expecting me to talk about those you might be disappointed. I'm not saying I won't, just that this probably isn't what you think. But enough disclaimer. On to the intro.

There is a passage in the Gospel of Matthew which we often look over. (If I am honest there are quite a few!) It comes right after the Lord's Prayer, right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. In this passage Jesus tells us that if we do not forgive others God will not forgive us. Yes you heard me right. Most people when they hear this ask one simple question. Does this mean that you can lose your salvation? That is indeed a good question.

The Fear of a Fence

Since when has the church cared about offending people? Like seriously? We create movies where we insult atheists. We boycott Starbucks because they took Christmas off the cup. We even try and pass legislation that forces transgender people to use bathrooms that they don't want to. But when we try and clean house, when the church tries to point the finger at itself suddenly we care about offense?! Seriously?! THAT is the line that we can't cross?! I hate to tell ya, but we have it ALL backwards people.

Black & Blue

I have spent this past week helping out with a camp of kindergarten through 3rd graders. It has been draining. But not as draining as the national news this week. It has been a week of contrasts. A week where my spotty cell phone service would tell me of another horrific shooting, followed by singing upbeat songs about Jesus. It has been a week where, everyday that I drove the kids to the pool, I passed a sign that said Blue Lives matter. The cogitative dissonance has been deafening. Our nation is tearing apart and we see the bruises. 

When Cold Winds Blow

Over a month ago I talked about Scars. I said that we all carry the wounds of past hurts with us. I mentioned that we have a choice. We can let these scars continue to hurt us. We can focus on the bad that happened and in turn become bitter evil people. Or we can choose to see them as something that God has used to make us better. 

I ended with an analogy of cold winds and talked about how there are times in our life when things happen that inflame these old wounds. Last weekend was one of these for me. I learned that God is with us even through these. I learned that God gives us people to help us through these times.

So Much More Than Zombie Jesus

It’s Easter so one might think that I am going to be talking about Bunnies and Eggs and pastel colors. Nope. I want to talk about Zombies. Yes you heard me right Zombies. At this point some of you might be thinking I have gone off the deep end. Well I might have, but that is not why I am talking about Zombies.

4 Things Biblical Marriage is Not

Marriage is a hot topic these days. My whole reason for creating this blog involved the concept of marriage and what was biblical. In that first post I hinted at the fact Christians who think it only takes one thing for marriage to be biblical are wrong. Yet I did not really go into much detail.

A few weeks later I followed up with 5 Things I Learned About Marriage During My Divorce. This has become my most visited blog. I mention it because I am going to reference it many times in what follows. If you haven't read that I suggest you do so now and then come back. Don't worry I'll still be here. 

What follows is a list that I cam up with while preparing to preach on Genesis 2:24. It will include concepts that I have said before. But these are things that I know need to be said. So without further adieu:

Advent: Hope

Last time I talked about the fact that Advent is about waiting. I mentioned that just like Abram waited for a son, and Israel waited for a savior, we wait for the second coming. This week I want to talk about something that goes hand in hand with waiting. I want to talk about hope.

Stop Talking About Women in Ministry

I want to start this off with an apology. Some of you may have clicked on this blog because you were expecting to commend me for my boldness in preaching the place of women or reprimand me for my chauvinism. I'm sorry. You won't find either of those here. I do hope that you are challenged by what I say. I expect some of you will still find what I say offensive, but for different reasons than you may expect.

Why We Need Community

 _____________________________________________________________________________

It occurs to me that today is September 11. Though not directly related I realize that when I talk about the need for community one of the best examples was the numerous men and women who devoted time, energy and their lives in the wake of this horrific tragedy.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Lately God has been talking to me about community. Why he designed us to live in community. What it means to live that out. Why we think we can be Christian by ourselves. How the community of God has blessed me.

I was pondering these things this morning as I sat down and watched a sermon by Alistair Begg. I noticed that the title was Membership Matters. Funny how God often orchestrates things just when we need them. If you want to have a look at the sermon you can view it here. One of his main points was that we often think we don't need the community. This started me to thinking about reasons why that might be.

Before I go any further a little sociology lesson.

When I was in undergrad I took a sociology class. One of the things we talked about in that class was the difference between the individual in Eastern and Western culture. Essentially in Western culture we talk about how everyone is unique and you are your own person. We have individual liberties, individual opinions, and individual beliefs. Eastern culture is much different. For many of those cultures the group is the most important unit. Your beliefs and opinions are not just yours.

My professor gave us this example from sociological studies. She mentioned that a class of kindergartners was used. This was a class with many first generation Americans whose parents came from Asian countries. It was the ideal class for such an experiment. Students were given a coloring page and told to choose whatever color they wanted to color with. Those students whose parents had grown up in the United States quickly took their favorite color and started. The students who parents were from Asia were unsure what to do. They could not decide what color to use.

Next the researchers told the students that their parents wanted them to color with a red crayon. At this the students who parents were from Asia perked up and began to gladly color with red. Some of the other students who had gladly colored with the color of their choice before got upset. Why should they have to color the way their parents wanted? It was their coloring page. They should be able to do what they wanted.

This is the difference between Eastern and Western culture. Here we are told to be your own person that what you do is important and no one can tell you what to believe. We live in a culture that tells us that we don't need anyone else. That we can do anything we put our minds to. This may be true of many things. 

But this is not God's design for the church.

In scripture we find the church described as a flock, a house, a body, and even a family. None of these things can operate on their own. They are all made up of various parts. As Begg puts it:

"One Sheep doesn't make a flock. One brick doesn't make a house. One limb doesn't make a body. One individual doesn't make a family."

The point is that God never designed us to be alone we were always meant to live in a community. But the question becomes why? What is it about humanity that makes us need and desire community?

The fact of the matter is that people cannot live the life God has called us to alone. We are broken people. We stumble we fall. In seclusion we can never become what we are called to be. We need other people to encourage us, to walk with us, to grieve with us, and yes even to rebuke us when we are wrong. This is the point of community. This is what the church is supposed to be to itself. A place for people to be people and place for people to grow, to rejoice, and to grieve. (If you don't believe me check out what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12)

So why is this important to me?

As I said in this post. I am divorced. That process was not an easy or clean one for me. It was painful and it was messy. Yet I was fortunate enough to be a member at a church that came along side me and grieved with me. They sat in ashes and wept with me. They prayed for and with me. The community of God was my faith when I had none. This community enabled me to grieve, to heal, to lean into God and to learn. 

That is what the church is for. But more than that the church is a place for us to be held accountable. Take a look at the things Paul says in his letters. They are not always encouragement. Paul understands that sometimes we need someone to come alongside us and rebuke us. We are not perfect. We need people to call us on what we do.

But the best part about the church is its diversity.

Take a look at Revelation. We see that all nations will come before God and proclaim His goodness and glory. Even Solomon understood that the temple was not just for Israel but for all nations. The blessing given to Abraham was so that he could be a blessing to the whole world. 

Now I'm getting a little ahead of myself. That really should be saved for tomorrow. But the point is that the church is to be a place where people come and learn from each other. Where we see the wonders of God's creation in all its diversity. The church is diverse because God's creation is diverse. 

This is my hope for us.

I hope that we can realize the need for the local church. That it can be a place where we come and are renewed. Where we are encouraged. Where we are blessed. Where we help each other. A place where we are rebuked in love. A place where we learn from each other. The church needs to be a community of God. It is not just a social club. It is a new way of life. It is something so different from the rest of the world that people look and wonder what it is all about. The church needs to be the community of God. In the words of Paul:

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Amen!